Left Alone
by SimonDoesFanfiction
Summary: This is the story of the tragic friendship between a misunderstood hero and an outcast. Cover image not owned by me. NON-CANON Part 1 in my Kirby series.
1. The Beginning

**_Hello once again._**

 ** _I am here to say that I am now a college freshman! Should be fun._**

 ** _Updates will be far less frequent (obviously) but I'll be trying to write even more words per chapter now and overall have a higher quality of writing, so this should be interesting._**

 ** _Without further ado, here is my second Kirby fic. It is going to serve as a prequel to the first one,_ Trapped Together _, and reuse the title of an older story I abandoned called_ Left Alone _when I was still learning the ropes of this site._**

 ** _Hope you all enjoy, review, and follow the story. PMs reviews are welcome appreciated._**

When someone says something that sounds too good to be true, it almost always is. That was just the way people talk about things; exaggerating the good or bad in something as if that were the only thing that mattered, as if there was a universal objective filter on morality that separated people and things into two mutually exclusive categories because nobody is willing to admit nor take the time to comprehend the truly complicated topic that is morality. Some things are definitively good or evil, true, but more often than not it's a complex mixture of various greys that ask too many awkward questions.

Dream Land, situated on Planet Popstar, certainly appeared to be and advertised itself as an eternally sunny paradise. And sure, it was certainly very sunny and peaceful in Dream Land compared to the likes of the Outer Territories, but a paradise? Debatable. There had been a routine in Dream Land: the big baddie from who-knows-where shows up to destroy/enslave the kingdom/world/universe, and the great Kirby of the Stars with his band of friends defeat the villain and secure peace and tranquillity until the next one shows up and the cycle continues. After so many repeats of the same plot line, one can't help but feel that something about it seemed just a tad bit manufactured.

Again, there certainly were some definitively evil beings that fell at the hands of the star warrior, but there were certainly too many of them for the narrative to make sense after a while, right? Just how many incarnations of darkness and evil _were_ there, exactly? Surely not all of them were the equivalent of or worse than Nightmare, right?

The Dream Landers, whether they be Cappies, Dees, Fringers, or Kapps; they didn't really mind. Perhaps Dream Land was so peaceful because no one inhabiting it's lands were really all that bright to be able to cause a cataclysmic war or anything of the sort. Unfortunately, their blissful ignorance only served to do more harm than good; they were easily manipulated, allowing anyone with enough foresight and wit to easily influence them with little resistance. That wasn't to mean they were all stupid; many were talented and/or intelligent; but nearly all were willing to go on with their lives without worrying about who ruled them until there was a tangible detrement to their routine. By then, it would've been too late to revolt against their new, usually mal-intentioned, overlords, and they would call upon Kirby to save them, which he quickly, and gladly, did.

The result was that Kirby was praised as a hero after the big baddie was begone, but after the wounds were healed — and the wounds healed healed quickly, mind you — they would go back to their usual business. With little regard to previous events, they would grow suspicious of the puffball that had just saved them, at times being egged on by the realm's self-declared king, of Dee origin, who at the time thought that if Kirby did receive the respect he deserved, he would get big ideas. He would want the top job! So get him before he gets you, and preferably do so behind the scenes to appear innocent enough for him to keep supporting you. Then, the next time business was interrupted, the hero, shunned just weeks or at times days before, would be called upon to save them and all would be forgiven! For at least a little bit.

Sure, this interpretation of Dream Land's shenanigans is in some ways overly cynical, but it did make some fair points about the backward situations its hero found himself in, and it probably helped to explain how Dream Land's golden (or, ehm... _pink_ ) boy, despite all his praise and heroism, often found himself so lonely. It had been this way since day one, when he mysteriously crash landed near Cappy Town when the realm's famed and magical Fountain of Dreams found itself under threat. He did ultimately find some initial friends in the form of the children of the king's cabinet minister and a mentor in the form of the ever-mysterious Meta Knight, but as the years passed by and the young Kirby acquainted himself with this life, he started to desire something a little more personal. Fumu and Bun were too busy with schoolwork to hang out much, and Meta Knight was more of a father-esque figure and was always unpredictable, so it made sense to yearn for a new source of moral support during down time. But who would want to hang out with him? He was childish, too suspicious. He didn't even know how to talk all that well quite yet, so who knew what he was hiding!! (No really, that's what some in Dream Land at the time legitimately believed)

Nah, it was easier to just run around in the green fields, chase butterflies, and eat stuff. Kirby _really_ liked eating. He did have an endless stomach to fill, after all.

It should have been a normal day. It should have been another usual, non-suspecting day.

He had wandered off to the eastern corner of Greeny Greens, imagining all the delicious things Cappy Town's Chef Kawasaki would have prepared for him on his return. He was on an "expedition" of sorts, seated on the side of a hill, relaxing and taking in the breeze when he heard footsteps approach him.

At first, the puffball internally panicked. Usually, when someone approached him without announcement, it meant they were accusing him of something he often wasn't responsible for. Confrontations weren't exactly his strong suit. But quickly, his perception shifted. The person that approached him very clearly looked distressed, but not at him. They were a purple-colored ball-shaped thing, with two large blue eyes looking straight at him, wearing a red-and-blue jester's hat, a red bow tie, and two non-matching brown shoes, one of which had a patch in it. Whoever this was, they clearly weren't of any sort of noble or upper class status.

"H-hi..." the stranger stuttered. Their voice was somewhat squeaky and lacked confidence.

Kirby nodded back.

"I-I lost my ball and I...I think it's, uh..." they continued to struggle. "I think it's somewhere around here."

"Poyo?" Kirby inquired.

The purple one's state of discomfort was immediately replaced with that of confusion. "Huh? Wh-what're you saying?"

"P...poy—" Kirby now was the one struggling. _Why is talking have to be so confusing??_ "B...uh—"

"Are you oka—"

Kirby raised his stub to interject. _No! I've got this!_ "B...ball, poyo?" _Aaaaarrgh_

They snickered at the puffball's challenge for a short bit before responding, "Y-yes. My ball. I'm trying to find it. Have you seen it anywhere?"

"Kirby no—" He slapped himself before proceeding. _That's not the right grammar! Remember what Meta Knight taught you._

The observer was taken over the edge with that goof and broke out in all out laughter, pointing at the puffball and falling over and everything. He had definitely made their day, as all the stress from earlier was now mostly forgotten. Kirby, however, didn't take it as well. The laughter broke him out of his thoughts and brought his train of thought to a part of his mind he didn't like to think about. He liked being happy and making people happy, but this... He was being made fun of.

He had suffered from similar treatment multiple times in the past, ridiculed for his toddler-es que behavior and the weird partners he found himself teamed up with during his adventures. It was just another part of the routine, but it cut deep. Perhaps not as deep as when he thought the whole of Cappy Town abandoned him, nor as deep as times when other towns unironically chased him away, but it hurt nonetheless. He wasn't in the mood to confront these deeply buried emotions right now (or ever, to be honest), but for some reason, right there, the fact that even a Dream Lander from the Fringes was making fun of him and his aphasia (which was no fault of his own; he was still young and still learning, and was very _very_ difficult to learn) somehow managed to break him at his core.

He got up and started running, running as quickly as he could from the laughter, from the complete ignorance that was chasing after him. He couldn't stop himself from crying; already there were tears rolling down his cheeks. He closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to even see the ridicule. He ran and ran and ran as fast as his feet could carry him. Everything was a blur. He...he just needed to escape...

He tripped and fell at some point, and even though his collision with the ground wasn't all too extraordinary, it felt as though he had fallen down a cliff. Every part of his body was aching with pain. Voices all around him were insulting him and laughing at his pathetic showing and how much of a fool of himself he had made. Kirby didn't want to get up. He wanted to bury himself beneath the ground to escape this torture. His usually unsatisfied appetite no longer existed; he instead felt on the verge of vomiting.

 _Leave me alone._ he cried. _Leave me alone. Leave me alone. Leave me alone._

"Yeah! Go away!" a voice chanted.

"Nobody wants you here!" another joined in.

"Just go ahead and die already!" yelled a third.

 _Leave me alone_ _Leave me alone Leave me alone Leave me alone Leave me alone Leave me alone Leave me alone_

"You're nothing but trouble!"

"Look at all what you've done!"

"You're a monster!"

"You're worthless!"

"DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE"

 _Please just leave me alone_

 _Please just let me die alone_

There was a quiet voice in the distance. He couldn't hear it at first, but as it got closer, all the others started to quiet down until they were all completely silent.

"Hey! Wait!"

 _Please just leave me alone_

"Come back!"

 _Please just let me die alone_

Someone was breathing heavily, panting. They clearly were running after him, but why...?

 _Put me out of my misery please and let me die_

"I...I-I'm sorry that I hurt you, alright...?"

Everything froze.

"...I...I didn't mean to hurt you, okay? I...I don't know what I was thinking..."

"...Poy...?" Kirby muttered. He was so tired and weak.

"I just wanted to know if you've seen my ball anywhere..." The voice sighed. "But I...I just did what I always do... I ruin everything..."

Kirby looked up worryingly. It was the purple one who was speaking, and the puffball was now left wondering where the follower was going with all this.

"That's all I ever do..." Their eyes were reddened and their face was full of shame. "I just hurt everyone..."

"Poy...i-is..." Kirby didn't know why, but now he felt obligated to make the jester stop their self-loathing. Maybe it could help stop his, too. He stopped to take some time to put the right words in his mouth, but his first attempt had led them to face in his direction, puzzled. Intrigued, even?

"Poyo...is...is not your fault." he squirmed out.

"..." They were somewhat stunned having heard Kirby pronounce that. He responded shortly after, "...but I made you run off."

"K-Kirby—me— _I_...don't want you...t-to be sad, poyo."

"That doesn't mean you have to be."

Kirby's eyes widened. That statement rang a bell within himself. Did the other _care_ about him? Like... _truly_ care about his emotions? This was unprecedented! Only Fumu and Bun has previously been—

"...m-my name's Marx, by the way." they said, smiling somewhat uncomfortably, but smiling nonetheless. "I'm guessing that yours is Kirby, right...?"

Kirby suddenly again started finding it hard to speak to the oth— _Marx_ —in a semi-coherent, but no longer due to his limited speaking experience. Rather, he realized that one of his deepest pleas for a new companion was potentially about to be realized. He didn't want to screw up this golden opportunity, so finding the correct words to say to Marx and respond in a timely manner was proving difficult. He chose to nod instead.

"Kirby..." Marx started getting used to saying that name. "Kirby, Kirby, Kirby. ...I like that name. Yo definitely look like a Kirby, to say the least."

Kirby chuckled. He didn't know why, but he did. This guy was funny. The jester hat now made a bit more sense.

"Real quick, um...h-have you been hurt by these sorts of things before?"

Kirby nodded. It didn't even make him feel any less comfortable; in fact, it didn't matter at all anymore. He was about to make a new friend, and that was all that mattered in the moment.

Marx leaned in close, perhaps a bit too close. Kirby's face went red.

"You're not alone." he whispered.

He leaned back and starting to turn around, leaving Kirby bewildered. "I gotta start heading back." Marx said. "I'll try to find my ball myself. It...d-despite our hiccup, i-it was a pleasure meeting you, Kirby."

He faced away and started waking due east, back toward the hill they had met on minutes before. Was it minutes, though? It was starting to grow a little dark out...

"A-again?" Kirby called out.

Marx turned back around. "What?"

"C-can you and K-me m-meet again, poyo? Oth-other day?"

Marx smiled again. "...Yeah. That would be nice."

And from then on, Kirby was no longer alone.

 ** _TBC_**

 ** _What? You thought_ that _would be the ending? YOU ARE MISTAKEN_**

 ** _There's a lot more to unpack! A lot more plot to thicken! A lot more angst to write! Stay tuned for more..._**


	2. The Complications

**_Welcome back to_ Left Alone _. Before proceeding, there are some review replies in order..._**

 _Bunnyrabbit202_ ** _Yes, I remember, and congratulations on actually getting an account proper. And yes, spoopy indeed._**

 _Raspberri-Marxie_ ** _The suspense is killing you, eh? Heh heh heh heh heh_**

 ** _And now...on to chapter 2._**

Kirby and Marx would start to meet up more and more frequently as time continued its long march forward. After all, both of them had found a cure for their loneliness in the form of the companionship of the other, and with such a strong foundation, it shouldn't be surprising that their friendship continued to blossom. Within three months, Marx had gone from living on the streets in the Fringes to residing in Kirby's residence, a privilege he had denied in the past but had finally accepted as he couldn't help but find Kirby's generous offer of hospitality humble and cute, just as the puffball always was. He hadn't yet told Kirby about his lack of housing until much later, but that didn't matter in the short term or the long term.

Above all, they had each other, usually in the form of moral support and a source of confidence during crisis or friendly games during peace, the likes of which weren't too dissimilar to those Kirby had enjoyed in the past with Fumu and the like. In fact, Marx couldn't help but seem to Kirby like a combination of a little bit of all his friends; he cared for his wellbeing like Fumu, was childish at heart like Bun, and was a personal mentor-esque person like Meta Knight. But he was more than that, too, and unique in a very special way.

He did have his weaknesses; first and foremost, a total lack on any hand-like pertrusions. This meant that whilst Kirby was somewhat dependent on Marx in mentality and livelihood, Marx was completely dependent on Kirby for even the most basic of tasks. He was often forced to stay behind whenever Kirby left for an adventure, biding his time by bouncing on his favorite ball, talking among himself until the pink puff returned. How he even managed to at some point be in possession of a favorite ball (or... _anything_ , really) puzzled the young star warrior. They found the aforementioned ball not too long after they first met, but this soon led to Kirby finding another strike against his newfound friend; Marx was very _very_ possessive, and proud of it. But it was this "proud of it" part that proved the most difficult; in short, Marx had a very large ego, one which had been hidden on their first encounter, likely due to being in a distressed state, but with that gone, a new, previously unseen layer of Marx's personality had revealed itself.

This inevitably led to some points of tension between the two new colleagues, such as when Marx first moved in to Kirby's humble abode. His first comment was, of course, "Yeesh! This place is _tiny_! If I lived here, I'd've moved out pretty quickly." This caught Kirby off guard; his house had been perfectly adequate before, hadn't it? What was Marx's deal? He apologized later, saying it was a joke, but Kirby never really let go of that initial remark, especially once he demanded more than half of the available space for himself and the few things he had with him. He backed down pretty quickly.

But pretty much all of the time, none of these points against him really mattered all that much. Marx was a good roommate, and more often than not he was a charming, wonderful purple ball of fun. He would always ask something along the lines of "So how did it go?", eager to get every last detail, as if trying to imagine himself beside his best friend at his moments of triumph or there to comfort him at his moments of sadness. They would at times chat about a hypothetical best adventure ever, imagining such wonderous things as Kirby and Marx fighting against yarn monsters. One particularly interesting scenario was one in which Marx imagined himself possessed by an evil entity, after which Kirby immediately chimed in by saying that, by reminding him of their deep bond and the "power of friendship" or something, he'd be freed. It was like (heck, _was_ ) two children's imaginations running wild, and it was glorious.

But there were still the less splendid times, the ones in which Kirby was reminded of the self-centered later of Marx's personality. But, given their first encounter, he suspected that was easily eroded whenever he found himself in distress or was prodded _just_ enough. He certainly seemed like the kind of guy who would brag about how well he'd do in a fight, and honestly wouldn't do half bad either, yet would never actually prove himself as he'd bruise quite easily. And a brutal proof of this theory would come not too long after it's conception.

It was nearing summertime, which meant that Fumu and Bun were, after what seemed like an eternity, freed from school. Excited as they were, they had informed Kirby that they'd be coming over to hang out with him as soon as their studies had adjourned. Kirby this decided that this was a perfect opportunity for a pleasant surprise, the surprise being Marx himself.

The two of them had just finished breakfast on that fateful day, and it was only a matter of time until the inevitable came to pass. Both were seated at a table, and Marx was clearly preoccupied. He hadn't said a thing since waking up. He had only been informed of the arrangements two days before; since his existence, as far as Cappy Town was concerned, was nonexistent due to his tendency to never leave the house, he was starting to have second thoughts.

"You think they'll like me?" Marx asked. "I-I don't want them to think I'm stealing you or anything..."

"Is okay, poyo!" Kirby replied without a hitch. His speech had drastically improved since the jester first entered his life, mainly because he actually had someone to talk to on a regular basis that wasn't his teacher for once. "I...um, am sure they like you!" Okay, so it wasn't _perfect_ , but it was getting there.

Marx sighed, having recognized that Kirby had innocently overlooked the question. This wasn't the first time he's done something like that, but Marx wasn't at all comfortable with his fears still stuck inside him. He quivered, saying in a barely audible tone, "D-do _you_ think I'm stealing you away?"

Now it couldn't be ignored, either by accident or on purpose. Kirby's face of excitement drooped pretty quickly. Marx hated himself whenever the star warrior did that, so that didn't really help matters much.

"W-Why you think that, poyo?" Kirby asked.

Marx shifted backwards in place. "I'm j-just a little insecure... Y-you know that. I just...don't want them t..." He didn't finish his sentence — that, or he had finished it so quietly that Kirby couldn't hear the last bit.

"What you — ehm, what do you mean?"

"...never mind..." he muttered.

"But...But you trust Kirby—me! Why can't you tell?"

"I...Y-you know what, now's not the right time, Kirby. I-I don't wanna do this anymore..."

Kirby gasped. "What? You no—"

"I'm sorry..."

"N...no... No!" he cried. "I not let you, poyo! I not let Marx leave!"

"W-Wha?? Kirby, I'm not saying that I want to stop being friends! I just...I..." Marx struggled.

"...Wh...What is it, then, poy?"

"I...I don't think I should go with you..."

"B...But poyo always say how you wanna come with Kirby when is away. You say yes when I asked poy, so why you now—"

"N-no. I won't. I-I'm too good for them." There it was.

"Marx..."

"I won't go."

"MARX!" Kirby slammed the table. Tears were streaming down his face, his voice desperate and angered. Marx was thoroughly shocked, but his resolve remained unchanged.

"Sorry, but no." His voice, by contrast, had turned ice cold.

Kirby soon went from hurt by Marx's words to enraged by them. He had seemed so excited for it and Kirby had gone through so much planning the intricacies of his reveal, and now the jester was expecting him to just _ditch_ it? He was doing nothing but making it worse for the two of them! At the heat of the moment, he decided to give Marx some incentive.

He got up, slowly approaching Marx's corner of the house.

"Hey hey, wh-what're you doing? That's my—" He stooped right in his tracks.

"Poyo come with me..." Kirby pointed, "or I pop this ball." Big mistake.

"Y-you wouldn't..."

"Or I eat it. One of the two." He lifted it up off the floor.

Time played like a slideshow once he finished saying that.

SMACK*

He was kicked on the top of the head, and _hard_ , the impact leaving a harsh sting as fell to the floor, hitting it with a loud THUD. He could hear a faint ringing noise. Everything felt and heard blurry, including the bounces of the ball as it slowly rolled out of focus.

"Get away from me you MONSTER!"

That was all he was, a monster.

SMACK*

He has kicked again, this time beside his cheek. The ringing got louder, the world got dimmer. He could taste the blood in his mouth. He could feel it dripping out onto the floor.

He deserved it. He was a monster.

Yet he clenched up for a third one. His eyes were kept tightly shut, his body bracing for impact.

There was a gasp. Someone was gasping. They said something.

Someone found him. Probably Fumu. They shouldn't be here. They should be leaving him alone to die.

Someone was on top of him, sobbing. They really wanted him to wake up, didn't they? Which was more cruel and selfish; wishing for death or pretending to be asleep?

Why wouldn't they leave him alone?

Why couldn't he have been left alone?

He was a monster. He deserved to be alone.

"Kirby, I can't do this without you..."

A stray tear just barely managed to escape his eyes. _Just leave me alone...please... Let this monster die alone..._

"Kirby, please... I-I couldn't control myself..."

They now layed their face atop the fallen beast. Two evenly spaced bits were like faucets trickling out a never ending stream of water. Much of their body was bruised. Were they attacked by something?

"I'm sorry..."

He felt like dying.

"Kirby..."

He was dying.

"Please just wake up..."

Wait...that voice. That was... "Marx?"

The puffball's eyes opened. All the numbness and ringing and everything went away in an instant. In front of him was Marx, his eyes were just as widely open as Kirby's were, filled to the brim just as much as Kirby's were. If it weren't for all their physical differences, the two of them would have easily thought they were looking in a mirror.

"I...I couldn't..." Marx stuttered.

"What...happened...?" Kirby groaned.

Marx blinked in disbelief. "I...I thought I..."

Kirby blinked in response.

"I thought I killed you..."

"Why, poyo...?"

"It...it's why I can't come with you."

"To die?"

If Marx wasn't in enough disbelief as it was, this was just — "W-wha—??"

Kirby raised an eyebrow (as in the expression; he doesn't have eyebrows). Was that the answer to his question?

Marx took a few deep breaths to collect himself. "N-no...Kirby. I mean...with your friends. I can't come with you to meet them. I just...I don't want them to hate me..."

Kirby wasn't really saddened as much as he was puzzled at this point. What was Marx's fuss? "I-I said you no need to worry. They-ll like poyo."

"I...I don't know. I never do. You...you, Kirby... You're the exception, not the norm..."

Marx was no longer looking Kirby in the eyes. He had drifted down into his own thoughts. His own painful thoughts of a life he had left behind once the door out had shown itself. Yet here is where it led him. Great.

Kirby scooter closer to his concerned colleague. "Were you...bullied?"

"Heh..." Marx scoffed, his tone still somber. "I can still remember their chants. I can still remember all the times I was kicked around or...was robbed in front of my eyes because I couldn't do a _single_. Fucking. Thing."

"...poyo..." _It must've been so hard..._

"It was."

Kirby covered his mouth in shock. He said that out loud? That was odd...it didn't _feel_ that way.

"And don't get me started on all the other 'friends' I used to have..." Lacking the ability to convey air quotes, Marx opted for the old rhetorical trick of saying "friends" in a overly mocking tone. He finally turned to face the star warrior. "This place, Kirby, this 'Dream Land', as they call it," — somewhat less mockingly this time — "it hasn't felt like a dream for me. Never has... It feels more like an eternal nightmare..."

The puffball couldn't help but clench in horror. An _eternal nightmare_...

"Or, at least, it used to...until I met you."

Kirby suddenly started feeling a bit warmer. He was blushing.

"I...I don't want to fall back into the nightmare again, Kirby. So...please...I don't want to risk it. I know I got you all excited but I...I just can't. Not now."

Marx slowly picked himself up, sniffling before he was up on his feet. Kirby followed up shortly after, although much faster.

"Poyo... Y-you're hurt..." he pointed out.

The jester looked down at his bruised body. He laughed. "Yeah. I'm a total pushover when I'm...well...not angry."

"Heh...I guess..." Kirby trailed off before the room again became silent. He wanted to laugh with Marx's somewhat dark joke to lighten the mood, but it didn't, really. It just felt...awkward.

"Y-you should go. I don't want you to be late..." Marx softly smiled. "And don't worry. I'll still be here."

Kirby's face started to redden again. On the spur of the moment, he ran up to Marx before he went off to bounce on his ball again, as he usually did. "Wait, poyo!"

"Kirby, we've already—"

"I know. I understand you meet bad people before. But these are Kirby's friends, poyo! I...I know they...I know they'll like you."

Marx still wasn't really all that sure. He internally commended Kirby for his persistence, but this was a bit much.

"I promise." he whispered.

KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Kirby?" a young female voice called from outside.

"Kirby, you need to—" Marx started.

Kirby pulled him in closer. The puffball was warm to the touch. Okay...this was a bit uncomfortable...

"Please, Marx...? For me...?" his voice was on the verge of silence, quivering.

KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Hello? Kirby, it's us!" the girl continued calling.

"Maybe he's not here?" another voice, this time that of a little boy, commented.

"That wouldn't make sense, though... He said we'd meet up here."

"...Please..." Kirby struggled.

Marx shifted his focus from Kirby to the door and back. He didn't know where this tight embrace came from, but maybe...just maybe...it meant that perhaps Kirby wasn't as comfortable about this reunion as he had led on. That maybe he was as preoccupied as _he_ had been.

He made up his mind. His resolve was changed. He was at last going to take the first steps into a brave new world.

"Alright." he muttered back. "Let's make it a good show."

Kirby patted his friend on the back. "Th...thank you... Thank you for—"

"C'mon! Let's go!"

"Huh?" the girl said.

"Who's there?" the boy followed up.

"The surprise." Marx responded. He smiled as though to mock the poor puffball who had so intricately planned the jester's big reveal, as now he had somewhat spoiled it. He was flicked upside the nose for that. Worth it.

"Hey!" Kirby whispered. "Keep it down!" He turned back to the door and spoke up, "Coming, poyo!"

Marx snickered at the temporary derailing of the plan. If he was now going to truly involve himself, he was going to make sure he had fun and a laugh doing so.

And boy, were there laughs to be had.

 ** _TBC_**


	3. The Descent

**_Review replies, first foremost:_**

 _Bunnyrabbit202_ ** _Thanks for the compliments!_**

 _Raspberri-Marxie_ ** _Ah yes! Those days where we lied about how we felt! Such wonderful periods of history indeed! But...yeah._**

 ** _Anyways, on to chapter tree! Um..._ three _! Christmas season lol_**

It had been a few months since Fumu and Bun were out of school, and things for the pair of best friends were starting to appear brighter than ever before. For once, it seemed as though the people of Dream Land actually cared about Kirby when they _weren't_ in danger; a fantastic change in pace and outlook.

 _It should have been great._

Kirby's darker side, a side of Kirby Marx secretly prided himself in knowing of and caring for, vanished over the course of those months. And for some reason things now just started feeling... _off_. Was it selfish thing to wish for Kirby to be so... _vulnerable_ again? Because since things have gotten better, this noche yet key aspect of their relationship effectively disappeared.

But then again, were great for Kirby, weren't they? Amazing, even. No longer would he have to bother the jester from his thoughts and his bouncing into comforting him out of an overly pessimistic (though admittedly justified) outlook of the Cappies' reactions to him whenever he was going out to buy stuff at the supermarket or eat out or anything! He definitely appeared confident in the past, though now this confidence was at last showing itself at home! By every conceivable measure, Marx should be proud; hell, excited for the puffball and his inexplicably revitalized public image. But he wasn't.

 _It should have been great._

Marx had met Kirby's friends. He liked Kirby's friends, Bun bring his personal favorite due to his mischief, but then he met Kirby's colleagues. He met the people Kirby somewhat knew and he met the people that knew Kirby (most of them at least). And things just didn't sit right with the jester. Something was surely amok beneath the surface...but what? Why was it only _now_ that these people actually seemed to...you know... _care_ about Kirby? That is was after these admittedly delightful cabinet minister kids were around that things started to change for the better...but _why_? Why then and not sooner?

These thoughts and questions plagued Marx's mind whenever he wasn't focused on keeping up with the others on whatever it was they were doing. ...Actually, scratch that; it's now clear that these thoughts have been seeping into everything else, distracting him, distancing him from the crowd that surrounded the puffball.

"Hey, Marx! You gonna pass the ball?" shouted Bun. They were passing around Marx's favorite ball by kicking it and hitting it. In attendance, beside the four obvious ones, were, surprisingly, Sword and Blade from the castle (apparently, Meta Knight was away doing "reconnaissance work"). All were situated a decently large flat area of green between Cappy Town and Kirby's house.

"Oh. Uh...hold on." Marx, although having just snapped back into reality, didn't feel any sudden sense of shock. As such, he deliberately toned his voice to sound more insecure, a practice he began long before these thoughts gained such prevalence. He was skilled in the fine art of deception, as when one had no way to reliably feed themselves, well...desperate times call for desperate measure. Not like anybody in attendance besides Kirby even knew that he had ever been on the streets before.

"Hold on..." Fumu interjected. "Time! Hold on. I...I don't understand."

"Wha-What do you mean...?" he quivered.

She started to approach the jester, a look of suspicion in her eyes. The kid was smart. _Perhaps too smart for her own good_.

"Look, Marx. You've been...well, a bit...let's just say, 'out of it' for a while now." she said. "Excuse me if I'm wrong, but I just find it weird you've like this because...well, I've seen you and how you behaved on your...um...debut. If you were so confident then, why not now?"

 _Fumu. Whyyyyyyyy_

Perhaps having felt like she was being too aggressive, she softened her tone. "Like is something wrong? If so, we wanna help."

"Huh? _We_?" Sword complained; somewhat out of breath due to having only just arrived to the commotion from his spot on the field. "Like, I get it, but I'm not a doctor. Or available."

"But—"

"Fumu." It was Kirby. "Marx can be pretty shy. It...it just happens from time to time..."

The girl blinked. What.

"And if he was troubled by something, I don't think poyo should bother him about it."

He subvertally pat Marx on the back. _Oh goodness thank you Kay._

Kay. That was a new nickname that Bun had attempted to force upon the puffball, but by now the jester was the only in the group that still occasionally refered to him as such.

"Okay...I guess." she responded. "Just want to help."

"It's okay, poyo! I understand, but...maybe not now, please?"

She thought about it for a bit. She shrugged. "Alright. As it was, everyone!"

And things went back on track. For the game at least.

The thoughts soon enough led to other thoughts. Some very selfish thoughts. Some very terrible thoughts that he would rarely allow his pink compatriot to know the details of...with one glaring exception when he um...yeah. He fell into the belief that, once the summer ended and the kids returned to their studies such, the Cappies and everyone else would again, as they usually did, ostracize alienate Kirby from their society, and the long history of abuse and torment that Marx had suffered through for far too long would return in full force. At least, that's how he justified himself in his descent. _The torture I went through is going to hit not just myself, but Kirby, too!_ he'd tell himself. _He might think he's had it rough but..._

With that internal barrier overcome, Marx began to weigh every option he had at his disposal, no matter how insane. It certainly would appear like a descent into madness if he had, well, _shown_ it. But he didn't. He had left that all behind. He had for months now lived a new, revitalized, and happy life with Kirby, but the one thing that remained from the past was this primitive, silent, yet ever-present thirst for vengeance. It had driven him before and it had driven him in some recent situations; he was full of himself and proud of it, dammit!

Having two fairly negative emotions dictate one's thoughts usually doesn't bode well, and yet Marx willingly allowed himself along this path. Marking his words, he vowed that he would somehow find a way to forever end the lingering fear of the end of he and Kirby's public grace period; a way to finally punish those _jerks_ back home and the jerks over here; a way to ensure that they would _never_ get hurt by anyone ever again... Oh, the power they would have—

"Marx?"

He was starring up at the ceiling. It was nighttime. How long had it been since day time again? In fact, how long has it been since—

"Marx."

He shifted to look toward Kirby, laying atop his own bed located across the house (more like _room_ ). He wasn't even covered by anything; it was as though he were just placed atop it. "You...you know where the Nova Comet is in the night sky?"

Hm. Some boring constellation-related thing. Okay, fine. Might as well actually do something with Kirby for once. "No." he answered. "Where is it?"

Kirby, after effortlessly getting up and waddling his way toward Marx, pointed the jester's attention toward the closest window, located not too far away. He leaned in to the point they were butting heads, but this was only because he trying to figure out where he could find the aforementioned space object from as close to Marx's perspective as he could get. His left eye was squinting and his right stub was busy scanning the night sky. "Right...there."

It was admittedly quite the bright object when compared to the stars that surrounded it. It was also larger than how most everything else appeared, but only just a tad; only barely big enough to distinguish itself. "Cool..." Marx said, somewhat legitimately impressed.

"It'll be passing over us, soon." Kirby said.

"Now is it?" How unexpectedly intriguing...

"When it does, everyone will be, um, making wishes and all. It's tradition."

"...And what would you be wishing for, exactly?" Marx asked.

"..." He fell silent, lips trembling, his expression somewhat uncertain. That was another thing that was off lately. Yeah, they were good friends protective of each other all that, but on occasion Kirby's actions suggested that he had some sort of deep _obsession_ with him. The fact he hadn't exactly pulled away or, for a lack of better phrasing at the moment, gotten off him quite yet wasn't helping matters.

"Marx, I...I don't..." He was clinging on to him even more tightly than before. Well that escalated quickly. "I don't want this to stop."

"Wha—? Kay, what're you talking about?" Marx tried keeping half-joking tons of voice, as he wasn't sure what exactly Kirby was going on about.

"Th-this." he said. "What we have right now."

"...I'm not exactly sure what you mean. We're still close friends—"

"I know, poyo, but...I-I'm scared."

"What for?"

"You know... _you_. I know you don't want to bring much attention to it, but I can tell something's been bothering you."

"Did Tiff pressure you into doing this?" There. Sewing in some doubt about his friends' motives should get Kirby to stop prodding him for details.

"You mean Fumu."

"They're the same."

"Poyo, I'm being serious!" Kirby scolded. In his impatience and to assert himself, he had stood up, making the jester innerly sigh in relief.

"I am, too. Did she pressure you into worrying about little ol' me?" he mocked.

"She didn't! And besides, it wouldn't have mattered! Y-you're my friend. I—"

"Want to help. Yada yada yada. Not really helping your case here, Kay."

"But I _do_ want to help! To try and fix what's wrong because you clearly _aren't_ , poyo! Because I—"

Kirby stopped himself mid-sentence. He was starting to tear up, unable to hold up much of a stable emotional wall for any longer.

"Because _what_ , exactly?" Marx asked. "Look, I appreciate the effort, but I don't need or want it."

The puffball was left with a look of sheer disbelief with Marx's complete and total apathy. What was his deal?? He acting like such a jerk! As a stray tear rolled down his face, he glared at the jester before turning around, tired and defeat, to return to his side of the room.

 _Finally...some alone time._

 _I know it's tough for ya, Kay, but I have some very..._ pertinent _things to worry about..._

"..." He could hear someone muttering in the distance. Was it just him, or was the room suddenly a lot darker than it was previously?

"Huh?" he asked.

"You said we were close friends."

"Kirby, come on. We're fine as it is. What else do I have to—"

"That was a lie and you don't even realize it."

 _What the—_ "Wha—? Kirby, what're you getting on at??"

The puffball began to re-emerge from the veil. Marx had a bad feeling about this... "You don't realize how far apart we've become."

Marx scooted backwards atop his bed.

"You don't realize how much I've bled for you..." Now in full clarity, the jester had to hold back from gagging. His eyes, his mouth, his stubs — most of everything that made up Kirby was dripping blood, all while having an unsettling smile on his face and a soulless stare glaring right down Marx's eyes.

"Kirby...?"

"...how much pain I took for you..."

"Kirby, y-you're scaring me—"

"Tell me, Marx..." He was cornered. "How does it feel...to be given such a... _cold_ treatment?"

He felt like he was frozen solid. He couldn't move. "Kirby stop it..."

"It's terrible to get a taste of your own medicine, isn't it? Bitter... Painful..."

The puffball was now inches in front of the thoroughly terrified Marx, who by now was pleading for his life. "What do you want from me...?"

"We both know what's wrong with you." Kirby continued on. "What you're thinking of doing. And why wouldn't you be scared? It's only days before they leave and we're left all to ourselves again."

 _Days?? What? Wasn't it just—_

"Help me, Marx. Help me end this pain."

"Wh... H-how? What're you—"

He was hushed by Kirby before he had a chance to speak any further.

"Tell me you love me."

Their lips were forced together, the purple one left with nothing but his eyes widened, completely engulfed in shock.

"Hey, Marx!"

He blinked.

"You gonna pass the ball?"

 _What the fuck was that??_ "Y-yeah! Hold on... G-got a bit distracted by something."

He kicked the ball toward Fumu. Apparently, either his mind or reality itself wasn't going to give the time to process whatever just happened. _If it even happened._

He set his gaze on Kirby, who innocently waved back at his best friend as though nothing was wrong. _Maybe there isn't anything wrong. Maybe I'm just going crazy_...

There was something stuck in focus in his mind, though. For some reason, it was prioritized above everything he just experienced. This "Nova Comet", whatever it was.

Maybe he should look into what it is.

 ** _TBC_**


	4. The Feeling

**_There were no reviews. Leave some reviews next time, 'kay? Follow the story, too, for updates 'n sheit._**

 ** _Hope y'all had a happy Christmas season._**

 ** _Now here's some more Kirby. Enjoy._**

It was another picture-esque day in Dream Land. Yep. Another one. Why wouldn't it be?

If one couldn't already tell, Kirby wasn't exactly in the best of moods today. And for good reason, too.

A few days ago, the puffball was minding his own business when he caught the glimpse of an ominous-looking ship in the distance, flying straight toward the location of Castle Dedede. He, being Kirby, and egged on by his best friend and accomplice, Marx, did what any proper star warrior should; he pursued and infiltrated the vessel.

At first, things seemed up to par with the sorts of antics the pink warrior expected with these sorts of adventures, save for initially failing to get on board thanks to a robotic lobster-like thing that guarded the helm of the ship. But after that hiccup, Kirby did all in his power to ensure the ship wouldn't remain in the air for long, not to mention reach its destination.

Then the leader of the ship revealed himself. It was Meta Knight, Kirby's mentor. To say it was a shock was an understatement. It didn't make the pupil refrain from harming his teacher, though. Clearly, Meta Knight was performing an evil deed in trying to take over Dream Land, right? W-Wasn't he?

With the warship now crashed into the depths of Orange Ocean, Kirby was now left with this existential crisis on his mind. Meta Knight, the mysterious protector Dream Land for so long and with such loyalty, had tried his hand at conquest? And from the looks, the veteran star warrior didn't seem to feel any sense of wrongdoing in his attempt to establish a military dictatorship. Was he really as trustworthy as everyone thought?

Now the mentor had disappeared. As in he was _completely_ gone. This only made things even more terrifying. Was his plan still underway? He could be anywhere, for all Kirby knew. It's one of Meta's trademarks, after all.

Kirby was supposed to have a training session today. It should be obvious why the puffball isn't bothering to attend. He has instead spent much of his time as of late with Kabu and the Fountain of Dreams, begging for some semblance of answers for his questions. But Kabu only responded vaguely, and the Fountain, as always, remained silent.

So here he was. A pink puffball lying on a hillside in the shade, thinking about what his mentor's betrayal truly meant.

Were all the star warriors like this during the height of the GSA? If so, they seemed no better than the likes of Nightmare!

N-no! That couldn't be it, could it? _He_ was a star warrior, too, and these ideals...they were intrinsic, weren't they? To protect those who couldn't protect themselves? To defend the light from the clutches of darkness? To ensure all were happy and free?

It didn't seem right! It didn't make sense!

It was like he was going crazy! And these sacred sites won't tell him what's going on!!

Kirby yelled wordlessly into the open air. It wasn't a long screech, but it was enough to vent out the anger that had built up inside him, leaving nothing but a sense of dread in its wake. Clutching his head and squeezing his eyes shut, he fell to the ground and wept. He had no words left to describe his feelings toward his former teacher.

After wiping some tears from his face and rubbing his eyes with his stubs, he stood up again. This endeavor had been nothing but a pointless trip. It was time to head home.

He looked up at the sky. Funny. It seemed as if only minutes ago it was daytime. Now it was the dead of night. He had spent the day getting no answers, loathing the actions of his father figure, and growing his hatred of himself. Just like he had spent every other day since the ordeal. How pathetic.

He started heading toward the main road, which, honestly speaking, functioned more as a trail than as an actual road. He wouldn't want to be marauded by any Poppy Bros or worse — Meta Knight — by taking the more direct, unlit route home. His eyes were stuck starring at the ground, full of gloom.

In spite of this, he managed to catch a rather sudden change in lighting. Curious, and wanting a distraction from his growing doubts toward his career, he looked up at the sky again.

His jaw dropped. Everything that was on his mind was dropped.

The Sun and Moon. They were fighting each other. As if they were in disagreement over what time of day it was. At some points, like now, it was daytime. At others, like _now_ , that it was night. It was disorienting, and potentially disastrous.

"Hey, Kirby!"

He turned around. A Bronto Bart, Waddle Dee, and Poppy Bro has approached from right behind.

"Hello." he said nervously.

"Do you know what's going on?" the Dee asked.

"I-I don't know!" he admitted. "This-this hasn't really happened before, poyo, now has it?"

"Really is strange..." the Poppy Bro chimed in. "I thought the Sun and Moon liked each other."

"Or at the very least were indifferent to each other." added Bronto.

The group all continued starting up at the sky fight, the belligerents continuing to slam into each other and occasionally gaining supremacy for all but a few seconds before the cycle continued.

"It's quite the spectacle to behold, I'll admit." said the Dee.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Kirby turned again. Now _that_ wasn't a voice the puffball was expecting to hear. What was Marx doing out of the house, let alone here?

He was bouncing on his favorite ball, too. Something was up.

"Can you make peace between the Sun and Moon?" the jester asked, his voice in a somewhat exaggerated tone.

Oh. That's why. Marx wanted to joke about how Kirby always saved the day. Touché.

The puffball smirked. "And hello, Marx." The jester remained undeterred, though. Clearly, he was looking for Kirby to play along. Resigning to his fate, he added, "Is that really a question, poyo?"

"W-well, I think I know how I can help you!"

Oh did he now? "Go on..."

"I think I've read about it... Like it's happened before, you know?" Marx said. He still remained bouncing on his ball.

"Yeah...?" Kirby and the onlookers leaned in.

"So...since you can't exactly, well, _talk_ to them, you'll need wish for them to stop. And to do that..." He directed Kirby's eyes toward a bright dot in the sky, even managing to be somewhat visible when the Sun was up. "You need to ask the giant comet **Nova** for help!"

It definitely seemed as though Marx had done some homework on the matter. Gracious, Kirby said, "Th-Thank you, Marx-poy! That's actually very helpful on your part."

"Yeah...about that."

Kirby raised an eyebrow. Marx stepped off the ball and paced toward his friend. "I was thinking...of joining you in this adventure...?"

Everything froze. He...he didn't...

He did. Oh yes he did.

He finally did. He's finally asking to accompany him...

He could feel tears of joy filling up his eyes. He could feel his face as it heated up and tinted itself red.

For Kirby, it was a deep desire of his; to see Marx grow into a hero just like him, for the two of them to experience adventure together as friends. Perhaps even...as more than friends...?

He squeezed Marx into a tight embrace. The jester couldn't help but chuckle at the puffball's antics.

"Yes! Yes yes yes yes yes!" Kirby said. "Yes please!"

"Ha! Then it's settled!" Marx responded. "But first!" He pulled away to be able to continue talking. "B-but first, there's something we need to do."

"Wha-What is it...?" Kirby slurred. He was barely able to even talk.

"To ask Nova, we need to gather power from all the stars around us."

"Mm-hm..."

"It will be difficult, Kay, but...I know we can do it."

"Marx—"

"Yes?"

The two of them were by themselves, surrounded by nothing. It was just the two of them.

 _Tell him, Kirby._

"Marx...I..."

"Well? Spit it out, ya weirdo."

 _Tell him what you want him to know._

"I just...Poyo, I just wanna say..."

"Hello? Are you gonna finish your sentences?"

 _Tell him that you love him._

"I wanna say...th-that I'm glad you're coming with me. I'm...very excited, poy..."

They were back beside the Fountain of Dreams again. Kirby had forgotten about that...and that there were witnesses behind him. He was too caught up in...other things.

"Thanks." Marx smiled. _That smile..._

"No problem." Kirby replied.

"So...let's go."

"Let's go, Kirby, let's go!" cheered the Dee.

"Quiet, you." scolded Bronto. "We know he'll do a fantastic job, won't'cha Kirby?"

Kirby stopped to take a deep breath before answering. After that, he needed to gather his footing. "I will." he told them. "I know I will. And so will he." He pointed at Marx, who was left somewhat flattered as a result. "We'll get the Sun and Moon to stop fighting. Don't you worry!"

Before the duo left, the Poppy Bro wished them good luck. Kirby called for his Warp Star, and within a few seconds, they were off.

The two of them were seated atop the Warp Star, the jester unable to hold on to it like the star warrior usually would as he lacked the arms or hands needed to grab on in the first place. As they flew higher and higher into the sky and ultimately into space, Kirby couldn't help but feel blissful. Here he was, in space, with no one but his best friend, with nothing to stop him from—

He didn't know when or why he started to develop romantic feelings toward his friend. Maybe it was how helpless the purple one appeared when they first met. Maybe it was a natural evolution of their strong friendship. Maybe it was how vulnerable he was around Marx at home. Regardless, by now, he was nearing a breaking point. He wanted closure, yet he, just like what happened not long ago, would never manage to follow through. All it accomplished was to eat away and deepen the hole in his heart that so desperately wanted to be filled, and with everything that had happened with Meta Knight...

 _You're alone now._

He covered his face in embarrassment.

 _Go on. Tell him._

"Kay, what's wrong?"

 _Tell him what's wrong._

"Pretty please?"

 _Tell him._

Kirby shook his head as he buried himself deeper.

"C'mon. Tell me! I want to help!"

 _You know he'll help. He's the only one that can. Because you love him._

"Is it because of Meta Knight? L-Like I need to know what's going on if I'm gonna help!"

"I can't..." Kirby muttered.

"Huh?"

"I can't, poyo... You wouldn't understand..."

"But...but I want to. C'mon. We're friends."

 _That's the problem. I want us to be more..._

He looked over the edge of the Warp Star. Beneath him was Popstar, blurred and out-of-focus. It always looked so peaceful from up here...

"Kirby..."

The Warp Star was, at the moment, still. It was awaiting a new destination. He saw the opening and he took it.

"Kirby!"

He stepped off the Warp Star, leaving himself to drift away back toward the planet, where he would most certainly crash into the ground and die.

Marx, dumbfounded, jumped after him, bumping into the adrift puffball. He would have caused the two of them to head off in completely different directions had it not been some quick thinking on the jester's part, grabbing on to Kirby using his shoes.

"You idiot! What are you doing??" he screeched.

His eyes full of tears, the pink one responded, "I'm not good enough for you, poy..."

"Wha-What?? What're you _talking_ about??"

"You wouldn't want to understand! I'm sorry!"

Marx, by now, had had enough of Kirby's ignorance. "I'm going to help whether you want me to or not!" he yelled. "Y-You're sending me mixed signals up in here, Kirby! At one minute you're excited for being on an adventure with me, the next you're totally entranced-looking, and the next you're trying to kill yourself!! How isn't there something wrong??"

"Marx, I..."

"Please! I-It's what friends _do_! Just...let me help you..."

He was sniffling. Oh no...

Great. He had made Marx sad, too. Well done, Kirby.

Look what you've done.

He looked around him. They were certainly still falling down towards Popstar, no doubt, but certainly not at any fast speed. He might as well just freeze up here in the vacuum of space. That's all he deserved now.

 _Don't hesitate now. Tell him..._

Kirby raised his left foot, the one Marx was attaching himself to, in order to bring the two of them face to face, before grabbing hold of the jester with his stubs. There was a weary look in Marx's eyes, of absolute uncertainty and fear. He could see his reflection in them, and what he saw was a grey, lifeless body starring back at him through his friend's pupils.

They've never seemed or felt closer. Sad, Kirby thought, how they'd only be this close in death. But that didn't really seem to matter at this point.

"Kirby..." Marx whispered.

After much internal struggle, the star warrior took the initiative and closed the gap between them.

It wasn't anything too special. It was a somewhat light peck on the lips, but it served its purpose and served it well.

Marx's face seemed to have turned into a raspberry in response to what had just happened. He was left completely speechless.

"Come with me..." Kirby said quietly.

"Wh...Wh-What?" Marx barely managed to reply.

"I want us to be together when I die." he said. Their embrace tightened. He wasn't going to let the other go.

"K...Kay... P-Please..."

"Let me have this at least once..."

"I-I appreciate the gesture, Kay...b-but this is crazy! We haven't even started our adventure yet, and you're..."

He stopped himself before he went any further. He had barely managed to catch a glimpse of blood leaking from the puffball's eyes.

"Let me die, Marx."

"No!"

"Let us die, Marx."

"Let go of me you—" He struggled as hard as he could to break free from Kirby's grasp, but as he did, he couldn't help but grow weaker.

Kirby wasn't just holding on to Marx for dear life. He was strangling him to death. He couldn't breathe. His circulation started to feel as though it was blocked off. Everything...

"We. Need to...stop..." His eyes squeezed themselves shut. "Meta...Knight..."

He was waiting for it. The moment he would go limp. The moment he'd go unconscious. It never came. He had been panicking.

"What?"

He opened his eyes again. Kirby appeared puzzled.

"Wh-What do you mean we need to—"

"I-I mean...it makes sense, doesn't it?" Marx said. "He's been gone since you downed the Halberd. The Sun and Moon fighting can't just be a coincidence, especially since it's so soon after that whole ordeal...right?"

Kirby blinked. "So you're saying...that Meta's going after Nova?"

Marx nodded, albeit slowly. He was still somewhat scarred by what had just happened. Or what he thought had just happened.

"I can't believe it... He's gonna try and take over Popstar without even having to fight." Kirby said, awe-stricken. "He's just gonna wish for it and it'll be his..."

"You see why I told you about what was going on?" Marx said. "I know you don't want Meta Knight to get away with this and I...I just wanted to help..."

Kirby looked into his friend's eyes again. "You already have." he said.

"O-Okay...b-but _now what_?? We're stuck floating our way back home!"

"Not exactly."

He could hear something in the background. It was...

"The Warp Star. But..."

"Well, I'm a star warrior. Need to be able to summon it on a whim, even if I lose it."

The star positioned itself beneath the two of them, allowing Kirby to gracefully land upon it. He let go of Marx afterwards.

"Look...I'm sorry about all that." Kirby admitted. "I...I should've just focused on the task at hand."

"It's fine." Marx said. "If anything, it's made the journey more interesting."

Kirby nodded. "Yeah."

"Right, Kay. Let's do this."

"Let's save Dream Land, poyo!"

Save it, indeed.

And they were off.

 ** _To be continued_**


	5. The Wish

**_Happy New Year. It's climax time. And now for some review replies:_**

 _Bunnyrabbit202 **I was wondering where you went. Thanks for the renewed commitment, though! Appreciate it a lot! You'll probably understand Marx's motives soon enough... Dun dun dun**_

 _ **P.S. Glad you enjoyed the shifffffffffff. I'm sure you'll enjoy the rest of the story.**_

 _Raspberri-Marxie **Dammit you fell asleep again! WAKE UP!!**_

 ** _With that said done, on to the chapter. The longest one so far, in fact. Enjoy_**

"Hold on, poy! We're nearly there!"

"I'm trying! Cut me some slack!"

They made it. After so much hard work they had made it. Getting power from eight different planets was a task easier said than done.

"Come on! I'll help you up!"

"I can do it myself!"

The duo had traveled from the season-changing fields of Floria to the vast seas of Aquarius. From the clouded gas giant of Skyhigh to the volcanic hell that was Hotbeat. It was a who's who of the Gamble Galaxy, aside from Popstar itself.

"Ha! Told you I was okay!" Marx said.

"You nearly slipped off, poyo." Kirby told him. "Just wanted to help."

"'ts fine!" he scoffed. "Honestly, sometimes you worry too much. I was fine!"

Kirby sighed at the jester's arrogance. "You...you know I have reason to worry."

"Well of course you do! Nothing wrong with it! Never said there was anything wrong with it."

They were now headed toward the mythical comet Nova. It had actually passed by planet Popstar just over a year ago, and it's orbital trajectory had now led it quite the long distance away. It had been quite the exciting time when it was visible from the sky, and the same sense of excitement was in the air — erm, _space_ — as it was then. It had been an admittedly exhausting journey, and at long last this adventure would reach its satisfying conclusion.

Kirby layed down flat on the Warp Star's surface, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Clearly, something was amok.

"You seem troubled." Marx inquired.

"I wonder why." Kirby responded dryly.

"Come on. I wasn't being all _that_ mean, Kay." Marx poked. After a few seconds of silence, he let up and added in a more sincere tone of voice, "Or at least...I didn't mean to."

"It's fine. It's just..."

Marx tilted his head. "Yes?"

"Poyo, I mean...d-doesn't this all seem...I dunno...a little _too_ easy for what we're doing?"

"Does it, now? That dragon on Halfmoon wasn't exactly a pushover—"

"Beside that!" the star warrior shouted, startling the accomplice. After gathering himself and taking another deep breath, he continued, "Like how do we know if Meta Knight hasn't already made it here? Heck, how do we know if Nova even _grants_ wishes, poy? I mean, it's a tradition from what I can tell to make a wish when the comet comes up in the sky, but—"

"You're asking these questions _now_?" Marx countered. "Kay, if I wasn't sure that this was going to work, you'd think I'd tell you."

"I-I-I dunno, Marx..." The star warrior was stuttering beneath his breath. "M-Maybe I'm just losing it..."

The purple figure scoffed, turning away. "Keep telling yourself that and you just might." he said.

An awkward silence took hold, as it usually did throughout these segments of space travel. Just...when _were_ they gonna get there? Couldn't be any further now, could it?

Well, it would all be worth it. Worth all this patience and planning and—

"...Marx?"

He blinked. "Yeah?"

"I-Is it... Poyo, I-I'm sorry, it's..." Kirby struggled. He was obviously trying to hide himself again. "I know we're here to get to Nova to stop the Sun and Moon from fighting...b-but..."

Marx's eyes widened with intrigue. "Go on."

"Is it normal to have some part of you want to...wish for something else?"

"..." His resolve stiffened, his face growing more serious. "...Why do you feel the need to ask me that?"

"Is it normal?" Kirby softly asked. "...O-Or is it just a star warrior thing...?"

"Kay, it's a comet in which it could grant you anything you could imagine. It's natural to be..." What would be the right word to use? " _imaginative_...about what you'd want to wish for."

"I...I don't want to screw it up, poyo."

"J-Just stop thinking about the whole Meta Knight thing for once, _okay_? You haven't let go of it since we left home and, frankly, I'm... _pretty sure..._ that we've beat him to it."

"...I-If you say so, poyo..."

Marx sat down, right beside the puffball. "Just forget about everything...and tell me. If we weren't here to, you know, stop the Sun and Moon, then...what would you wish for?"

"...Marx?"

"What, deep inside your soul, is your most precious...most _selfish_ desire?"

Marx was tempting him to do something. But what for? "S...Stop it..."

"What would your heart wish for, Kirby?"

Something inside him broke. " _STOP TEMPTING ME!_ "

The jester would have been thrown off of the distressed puffball's side if he hadn't jumped back in shock. Kirby himself was breathing rather quickly and stressfully, his eyes bloodshot, his stubs twitching, and his body being stood up when everything started to slow down. The weight of his eyelids started to build up rather quickly, and before he knew it, he was curled up into a ball, his face up against the Warp Star's surface once again.

Tears trickled down his face, or at least as far down as they could in the cramped area they were allotted. His cheeks were blazing red.

"It's just a mild curiousity, Kay." Marx said. Whilst his composure wasn't nearly as soft as it had been previously, his tone seemed somewhat unaffected by what had just happened.

"N-No...It's my fault." Kirby whispered.

"I didn't get that."

"It's my fault." Kirby spoke more clearly. "I shouldn't have brought it up. I...only made things worse..."

"It's fine." Marx waved away. "It's only natural to be _curious_."

"W-We have a task at hand, and I'm just...I'm just being nothing but a fool..."

"You don't have to be."

"I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted. Now straighten yourself up."

"I'm...sorry for...for everything..."

Okay. He wasn't letting up. Marx sighed. "Kay, it's fine. You don't have anything else to apologize for. You...you're the best thing that ever happened to me, you know?" He turned to face Kirby again, but was left somewhat irritated by the fact that the star warrior refused to look up.

"I don't want to hurt you more, poyo..."

"Good! Get up, then! There's no point in sulking about it. Besides, you yourself admitted we've a task to complete."

"C'mon, please?"

Kirby, after a bit of internal deliberation, slowly allowed himself to be unveiled, unshielded by his stubs. He slowly opened his eyes, but a quick glance into the background would see them open up wide, with amazement above all else. "Woah..." he said.

Initially puzzled, Marx again turned himself around, but soon was, too, left speechless.

In front of them was was a massive, round, golden piece of clockwork, with various things sticking out of its sides, such as a pendulum, some crystals, a light bulb, and various gears amongst other objects. There was a face on its front, and while it's eyes were closed, it didn't appear too dissimilar to the face of a smiling cat, minus the whiskers. Whatever this comet was, it was without a doubt an invention of the Ancients. They weren't directly in front of it; in fact, they were far enough away from it for it not entirely to fill up their frame of view. Still, one couldn't deny Nova's sheer size.

Its appearance was sophisticated, its scale was towering, and it somehow managed to invoke a sense of excitement and terror at the same time.

"...We're here." Marx announced; he wasn't attempting to get the comet's attention, and as such kept his voice down.

"Uh huh..." Kirby absently responded. He was still gazing at the mechanical monstrosity, or so it seemed.

"Okay. Right." Marx stumbled for a second. "W-We need to get closer to it."

"The Warp Star will not go any further." He stood up.

"What?"

"If we are to...save Popstar, poyo, we need to proceed..." He stepped forward. "...on our own."

"Kirby, stop!"

He stepped off the Warp Star. Panic ensued within the jester, but only for a short moment. The star warrior was continuing to walk toward Nova just fine, as though an invisible floor had appeared. He was quickly followed by his relieved colleague.

"Goodness, Kay, you need to stop scaring me like that." Marx said.

The pink puffball said nothing. The purple was left to snarl as a result.

As they got closer, Kirby could begin to hear... _something_. What it was, he couldn't tell? A whisper? A song? Pink noise? What's happening...?

He stopped. It was as though there was some instinct or feeling that told him to not proceed any further. As if this spot, as compared to any bit closer to the comet, was where he was meant to be. Where he was destined to be.

Marx looked on with a blank expression on his face. He was twiddling his toes — er, _shoes_ — as if he were waiting for something to happen.

Kirby was lifted up off the ground, or at least what was supposed to be the ground. He was floating, floating right in front of where Nova's eyes would be looking, were they to open. As he rose up, seven stars of various colors, red to violet, encircled him, a visualization of the power he and Marx had collected from the various planets on their journey.

He breathed out. Inside him remained a small yet vocal shred of self-doubt. A sense that he would somehow make something go wrong.

The sound became clearer. It was a whisper, after all. _He has come to steal it from you._ it warned.

Kirby stiffened up. "Meta?" he asked.

 _He intends to betray you. Don't allow him to._

But...no, that couldn't be right, could it? The voice...it faintly sounded like Meta Knight's voice, combined and distorted with a few others. Who was telling him to—

Nova's eyelids opened; or, at least, opened halfway. In spite of that, the brightness of the light emerging from them forced the star warrior to shield his own, else he burn them. They were bright purple, the comet's eyes.

The machine spoke aloud. "READY " it said. The voice sounded like that of a vintage computer; as in _very_ vintage.

 _Wish for what your heart most deeply desires. ~_

Kirby gasped. N-No...he needed to—

"I WILL GRANT YOU ONE WISH "

 _You know you want to, Kirby._

 _No..._

 _Wish for Marx to love you back._

 _No! I wish—_

He was suddenly shoved aside, left floating out to open space to Nova's right. His body ached.

"Well, I want to control Popstar!"

His resolve froze. Everything went cold.

That was Marx's voice. He told Nova to—

Wha-? _What_?? Why did he—

How could he—

N-No... That couldn't have just happened. He said that he wanted to _save_ Popstar, didn't he?

No. He didn't.

Know how he said that it was only...imaginative? A curiosity, to think of what one would selfishly wish for?

Well Marx had proven himself to be extremely "imaginative".

And with that, Kirby realized that his friend had given in to his selfish desires.

"OK 3...2...1... BLAST OFF"

The sound of an ion engine lighting up was heard, and within a blink of an eye, Nova was rocketing its way back toward home. Toward Popstar.

As if things couldn't get any worse as they were, in the distance, he could faintly hear Marx's demented cackling grow louder and louder. Focusing on him, Kirby could see something begin to sprout out of the jester's form.

"At last..." Marx said. "At long last, it worked! All my plans worked!" His laughter grew more grotesque, more distorted, more painful by the second, until at last his transformation was complete. Jutting out of either side of him were large, golden wings, capped by knife-like ends that looked like spades you'd find on a deck of cards. Claws came out of each wing, their talons long and sharp. His mouth now played host to several fangs. His eyes looked crazed as lustful for power, one pupil immensely smaller than the other. And on his face was this insane, bloodthirsty smile.

Never in his worst nightmares would Kirby have ever imagined his best friend to appear like this. Now, it seemed as if this would be the being of all his nightmares to come, if he could ever manage to sleep again. This...this _thing_ wasn't Marx. It-It _couldn't_ be Marx...

"POPSTAR IS ALL MINE!" the beast declared.

He tried to protest. He tried to cry out. He tried to speak. Say anything. Anything at all. But he couldn't. He was paralyzed in shock, terror, and dread.

"NOW I CAN DO _ANYTHING_!!"

He tried reached out to him, with one of his stubs. He couldn't move.

" _We_...can do anything." Marx said. They were now looking directly toward each other.

 _Look away Look away_

"We can do anything...together, you and I." It flew straight toward him.

 _Get away Get him away from me_

"I can finally stop being so...useless. So...defenseless, so incapable. I am now as powerful as you, Kay." It came up close to whisper the next bit, "I may even be _more_ powerful than you."

"...Wha...What have you done?" Kirby finally managed to speak, albeit very weakly. "Why have you— Why did you do this, poy...? We were supposed to..."

"Stop Meta Knight? Stop the Sun and Moon from fighting?" it mocked. "Ha! Don't make me laugh."

"S-So...Meta Knight wasn't ever trying to get the wish from Nova... Th-That was all a lie..."

"He didn't have anything to do with this little... _escapade_. However, I will admit...it was hard to find the right time to enact the plan, Kay. But when Meta Knight pulled his little stunt, I knew I would be able to get away with it with you at your most vulnerable... At your moment of existential crisis... At your _weakest_. When you wouldn't be able to put up any resistance."

"You... How could you..." He held his breath. He had felt something foreign, something he never thought he'd feel. Marx was _grabbing_ him. With his claws.

"And when you revealed your...well... _love_ toward me, heh..." he chuckled. "I knew I already won. I knew that I had you in my pocket."

"You...manipulated me..."

"But of course. It was too easy."

Kirby couldn't hold back his pain any longer; neither emotional nor physical. "But why?? I was your best friend!"

"..." Marx seemed to be restraining himself. "You are. You wouldn't have understood."

"I wouldn't have allowed it!" Kirby yelled. "This is mad! Completely ludicrous!"

He was hushed up rather forcefully. So...Marx _wasn't_ restraining himself, then. "You haven't seen the things I have seen, Kirby." His voice was low, quiet, and dark as the night sky. Yet the tone was...soothing. It felt as though the entire universe around them had slowed itself down. It made the puffball feel numb. "You haven't experienced the things that I have experienced. And yet...I can safely say...we share the same pain. The same...injustice.

"You know the routine by now, don't you? You are alienated, ridiculed, _distrusted_ by the very people you intend to save..." Kirby felt the tip of one of Marx's wings brush lightly against his cheek. It made him blush. "...until they feel the need for their hero to save them. Admit it...they wouldn't care if they ever found you dead."

He shut his eyes tightly.

"They wouldn't care if you died right in front of them."

"N-not Fumu...or—"

"I'll admit that you have your loyal followers. And I feel glad that they'd care about you. But no one...nobody would care about me. To them, I'd be just another stuck-up bit of scum from the Fringes. A victim they could take everything from without consequence. Why care about poor little Marxie when I have my own careless life to attend to?"

Kirby could feel a few salty tears dripping down his face. The thing was that most of them weren't his.

"But no more... Never again. Never again will we have to suffer at their hands. Never again would we have to endure their insults and their laughter. They treat us like the very villains you seek to defeat, or worse. They think they can just recline back and enjoy their perfect, carefree lives in their perfect Land of Dreams. But now they'll know better.

"With our combined strength..." Marx started to speak up. "We will give them _justice_ for the pain they've caused! We will _END_ their lazy ways of life!"

Then everything went silent again.

"We can even..." Marx continued, but this time...his voice didn't sound emboldened by immense power, nor was it distorted by some monstrous transformation. Kirby opened his eyes again. The jester's eyes no longer looked crazed, his mouth no longer housed layers of sharp teeth, and, whilst he still was grabbing onto the pink puffball, it wasn't through the use of claws, but rather through a pair of yellow-colored arms wrapped around him. It was as if he had transcended from an unimaginable nightmare into one of his deepest of dreams. "We could even...make sure no one else will feel our pain..."

His eyes were wet and shiny, his pupils reflecting the stars that surrounded them. His eyelids made him appear saddened, yet his mouth was squirmed into a gentle smile.

He was perfect...

 _Tell him._

"P-Poyo..." Kirby whispered.

"Come. I want you to be my prince. My co-monarch. Together, we can do extraordinary things..."

"I...I love you..." His heart rate was accelerating.

"Then come with me."

"..." He felt warm. Everything felt warm.

What was he to do? Here it was, the chance to give in to his deepest, most selfish of desires. So why was he struggling so much? Why was he being so... _indecisive_?

Kirby sensed something. Something he wasn't intended to sense. The throbbing in his chest slowed down to a crawl.

The darkness. He could feel its cold touch.

But why? What was it doing at a time like this...?

Kirby starred into the distance. At the comet rocketing it's way toward Popstar.

Marx was intending on controlling Popstar. But to accomplish this aim, he too was intending to destroy it.

The façade revealed itself for what it was. He was being seduced. Deceived.

"You're lying." Kirby coldly responded.

" _What_?" The distortion came back.

"You're _lying_." he repeated. "I know what you're really planning. Don't act like I can't see."

"Heh... Heh heh heh..." Marx started quietly chuckling to himself. Okay...not quite the reaction Kirby was expecting.

It went on for a short while before Marx resumed his talking. By now, his Nova-granted form had again revealed itself, but by now Kirby knew it was his friend that was inside. Or... _former_ friend.

"You know...it's too funny, really." Marx explained. "Meta Knight was taking over Dream Land to make its citizenry a less lazy people. And now his dreams are being fulfilled, albeit by a more _powerful...painful_ being.

"He was a fool." His voice started to slowly become more and more sadistic. "To think that he could just demand Dream Land to be a less lazy folk. The only way people can change is through fear...and I can assure you...Kirby..." His grasp started to grow tighter and tighter as the sentences progressed. The puffball started to struggle to breathe. "...that they will be sufficiently traumatized into submission.

"I said that nobody would care about your death until they need you to save them. Well...they will have no savior to rescue them from my grip. After tonight...whenever a Dream Lander would dare speak your name...they will only recount about how you..." The claws dig into Kirby's flesh, causing him to wince in pain. "... _begged_ for death..."

He leaned in closer to to the puffball, inches away from his face, as the blood started to spill out onto his exposed body, some of it escaping out to empty space. He continued, "...and how I, their ruler...and your lover, being a merciful lord...obliged."

Both of the knives that capped Marx's wings pierced straight through Kirby's skin, through his heart, and out the other side.

A bloodied corpse and its master. Both had been left alone, both had been drawn together by their shared misery. Now the former was left to rot away, having been deceived that the latter had been his equal.

But Marx, as cunning as he was, didn't realize was that his triumph would be short-lived.

 ** _To be continued. MWA HA HA HA HA HA_**


	6. The End

**_Review replies:_**

 _Bunnyrabbit202 **Mwahahaha**_

 _ **In all seriousness, it was indeed inevitable. Regarding your other comment, there have been subtle hints throughout this story suggesting that what you're suggesting has been going on the whole time.**_

 _The Artist Formerly Known as 'Raspberri-Marxie' (i.e._ YourFluffyTrashIsFull _) **Yes. I decided to do a Prince joke to celebrate the name change. You're welcome.**_

 _ **In the meantime, yes. That was intentional. Good to see the chapter had the desired emotional response. Glad you're enjoying the story so far.**_

 ** _With all that settled...ON TO THE CHAPTER! We've got another long one here, so sit tight!_**

There was...ringing. A soft ringing noise.

And pain. A lot of pain. Though it seemed not to come from any injuries. As far as he was concerned, he hadn't any injuries of any sort.

It didn't feel like he was waking up from a pleasant slumber, nor did it feel like he was frightened out of a terrifying nightmare. It felt...strange. Like he had risen out of a coma. His head was buzzing and everything was aching, but there were no bruises to be found.

He was spinning. Spinning and spinning around, away. Stars circling round.

This place felt familiar. Like he'd been here before.

Nah. That didn't matter.

Nothing mattered anymore.

Here he was. The great Kirby of the Stars, floating in space, useless and powerless, having been sober aside by the newly self-proclaimed ruler of Popstar. The backstabber. The betrayer. The jester. Marx.

How could he have ever fallen in love for him? How could he have been so blind? The signs were there for months, heck, maybe even a year or two, yet he never bothered to press his suspicions. To ask the right questions.

What use was he now? He wasn't even brave enough to try and stop Marx after he had revealed himself for what he truly was. He allowed himself to be so easily molded by his presence, molded into melting away whenever he dared tease him.

Maybe that's why he felt so crummy after awakening. Maybe he had left such a wide opening that Marx couldn't resist to finish him. To push him out of commission. And it worked. He may as well just be some random stray husk of space material traveling across the cosmos. Who knew how long he had been knocked out? Hours? Days? Years? Was there still even a Popstar worth saving? Was he even still in the Gamble Galaxy at this point?

From the looks of his surroundings, Kirby could determine that the worst case had not come to pass. He was still near home, but only just. And even then, "near" still meant he was millions of miles away.

Why should he even bother thinking about going back? Stopping Marx? Saving himself? There was no point to it anymore. No point in trying to do anything but close his eyes, and return to his somber state, where he wouldn't have to deal with reality.

What would everyone say if he came back? They'd probably just shout him down. Tell him that he wasn't fast enough. Smart enough. That he didn't save them in time.

That he was too late.

If Marx had intended to kill him, he had succeeded. He won.

So there he was. Kirby of the Stars. Left alone, flying through space without much of a care in the world left in him. Such a hero. He didn't even want to call himself a star warrior, not like he deserved such a title at this point.

 _Let go._

He should just give up.

 _Let go, Kirby._

He should just close his eyes and keep them shut.

 _Let go and just die already._

 _Die._

 _Die._

 _Why is it so hard to die??_

Something wasn't right. There was a reason he was still alive. There was a reason he wasn't dead.

There was a window. An opportunity. A chance, just a chance, to maybe, just maybe, redeem himself. He just needed to realize it.

To unhinge himself from his own self-pity.

But how? Where? What was he supposed to—

 _Out there, in the distance. Look._

It was a small speck. But not small enough to be mistaken for something in the background.

Come on...spin back around so we can — there we go.

It was leaving a streak of faint, blue light behind it. It was the comet Nova. It was still blasting toward Popstar. But how? Surely he had been out here for too long. How had he any chance of stopping it?

He could feel something. Something twinkling nearby. It was growing stronger...

The planets. Kirby could feel their power. But how? Surely they must've been used up on granting Marx his wish. Unless...

Unless that, too, was a lie. The bastard. Though, at the very least, his shortsightedness had proven itself to be for Kirby's benefit.

He could feel his own strength growing. His own confidence boosting. Come on, now wasn't the time to hide away and sulk! He had a planet to save!

The small, colored stars that had revealed themselves during his confrontation with Nova now encircled Kirby, orbiting around the puffball at faster and faster speeds as they neared him. He could even feel himself glowing brighter and brighter until at last they merged together and a blinding light engulfed him.

When the light faded, the puffball found himself to no longer be spinning aimlessly. He felt upright. In control. Energy flowing through his veins. He felt more awake, more aware, than ever.

Now it was time to catch up to Nova, out in the distance. If he were to disrupt Marx's plan, he would need to disable and/or destroy it. Vengeance would be sweet. Now, it shouldn't be _too_ dissimilar to taking down the Halberd, right? Think that, but scaled up. But by...a thousand. ...To be generous. Shouldn't be too hard.

The question now was how he was going to get to it. And the answer was something Kirby was laying his eyes on. The Warp Star.

Kirby knew that it hadn't ever traveled fast enough to catch a comet rocketing toward a planet with an ion engine. Perhaps all the Warp Star needed was a little boost. He summoned it at once, and, once stood upon it, closed his eyes and focused. He was attempting to transfer the planets' energy into the Warp Star. He couldn't keep his eyes closed for long, as the surface, shape, structure of the Warp Star changed before them.

The plain yellow star that Kirby was long accustomed to had transformed into a miniature spaceship-like device, with the aforementioned star having become the sparkler's hull. Kirby now sat atop it as though he were the pilot of an airplane, rather than leisurely sitting on its surface. Destination in mind, he blasted off toward the comet.

At these insane speeds, the background stars and space objects around him appeared to be streaking as the distance between himself and the comet closed. He readied himself.

Not wanting to be cooked by Nova's propulsion mechanisms, Kirby veered just slightly left of his target, hoping to make another pass and enter through any number of openings in the mechanical monstrosity's body, namely those for the various appendages that stuck out of it.

There was, however, a slight hitch in this plan. He was now headed straight toward Popstar. He wasn't expecting the comet to have been so close to his home planet. He zipped away just in time to avoid entering the planet's atmosphere.

After turning around and slowing down, Kirby was left slightly confused. Surely, if he nearly accidentally rammed into Popstar by accident, Nova should have hit its intended target by now. Something was pushing it back.

Some _things_ were pushing it back.

The Sun and Moon. The ones that were supposed to be fighting.

It seemed as though they had put aside their differences for the sake of protecting Popstar. It was a miracle. Now all he needed to do was—

"You've come to see the show, I see."

Kirby stopped his train of thought, turning his attention to the voice that had addressed him.

"Hello, Marx." Kirby said.

"They can't hold forever, you know." Marx explained. "Their feud has left the two of them weakened. They will destroy themselves under their own stress soon enough."

Kirby frantically looked around. "Reveal yourself!"

"I don't think so. I'll stay here, the humble director, while you, Kirby, watch all of your friends be made an example of."

He gasped. "H-How dare you— Cappy Town did no wrong!"

"Nor did they, nor the people within a 1000 kilometer radius, do any right, now did they? They'll pay for the world's wrongdoings!"

Kirby trembled. The stakes had been tremendously raised.

"All the world's wrongdoings against me! Against us!" Marx continued.

He regained his focus and narrowed down a point of entry. There was a large gap in Nova's gold plating right above a spherical observation pod just below the middle-right of the comet. Hopefully it would be wide enough for him and the Warp Star to fit.

"The world will bow beneath my feet, standing atop rubble!" Marx yelled out. "Standing atop the bloodied remains of those who dared oppose me! OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW!!"

"Marx." Kirby said. "You should stop living in your dreams. It's time for you to wake up."

He leaned forward as the Warp Star accelerated, blasting itself toward the opening. Impact was imminent...

He slipped inside, but soon found was whiplashed by a sudden push backward. Not so much like a strong wind, but a force. A force begging to keep all foreign specimens out of Nova's insides. The upgraded Warp Star's sheer grunt was enough to overpower it. It soon subsided, but even then it was difficult to increase speed to anything that could cause catastrophic damage if crashed into anything.

And whilst the outside looked as though it was made up of various objects mashed together with a clean face on the front, the inside was a wide, massive, intricately designed chamber with pillars, pylons, and the like providing things from power to structural support.

Headed right toward Kirby was the second level of security within Nova; various probes and small robots sent to kill the specimen that had entered the body.

With careful maneuvering, the pink puffball dodged laser blasts, intent to kill him, and kamikaze bots, intent to knock him off his vehicle or, in the case of some explosive ones, blow him up. In other words, everything in here was trying to kill him. To prevent him from reaching Nova's heart.

There was odd sensation in his brain, though. Something that wasn't clicking. Why wasn't he able to fight back?

Without warning, his Warp Star fired a set of three yellow shots, one in front and two angled slightly above below. The one aimed slightly downward destroyed a probe that Kirby hadn't seen coming toward him. Now this was going to be fun.

He continued navigating through the inside of Nova, shooting away at its security and immune system as it continued to attack him. He caught sight of a large, cylindrical chamber walked off just above him. Lights that periodically pulsated smoothly between on and off and on again surrounded much of the walls of Nova's interior, but all of them converged on this sealed off area. That was surely where the heart was. Or the brain. It shouldn't really matter which was destroyed.

As he prepared to approach it, a large swarm of probes engaged him from the front. He tried shooting them all down to no avail.

They smashed straight into him, but not to directly impact him. This swarm wasn't meant to hit him off his ride. It swept him off.

Only now did they all converge, encasing him before he could fall down. Within seconds nearly all the light from the chamber's walls was blocked out, replaced by a million faint, light blue status lights on each probe. One by one they all turned orange, and he could hear beeping.

Before Kirby knew it, the Warp Star sliced through the wall of probes, scooping up the defenseless puffball before they all exploded behind him.

He nervously wiped some sweat off his forehead. That was too close to disaster, right there.

And there was an entry to the control chamber right there. He soon found himself inside, where he would have to, for a bit, shield his eyes. Compared to the somberly lit, darker palette of Nova's interior, this room was bright, and full of reflective metal. In the center was the comet's heart, enclosed in a casing of plexiglass. Circling around it were eight towers, each protected by two turrets.

The entry closed behind Kirby, and soon found himself subject to a very strange artificial gravity field, which saw himself unable to risk firing directly at the heart's enclosure itself. He would have to take out each support tower, which rotated almost effortlessly around him. He couldn't move to the sides of them of their way, either, meaning he'd have to fit between the narrow gaps in each tower used for railings for their respective turrets.

He fired away at each turret, slowly blasting away at the heart's defenses. Once enough damage had been dealt to the turrets for any one particular tower, the resulting explosion resulted in a chain reaction that downed the whole tower, making the navigation problem easier as more of the towers were destroyed. All the while, all the remaining turrets fired missiles seemingly unaffected by the chamber's odd gravitational field, making the task quite precarious to undertake.

Finally, the last tower was destroyed, and the room seemed to shut down. The restrictions on movement were lifted, and now, free to fire away at the heart, Kirby did so. The casing, and heart inside, were shattered. Soon, however, the whole chamber began to explode around him. He rushed out as quickly as he could, only barely managing to speed away from the fireball that engulfed the small chamber.

It continued to grow, blasting a large section of the top-right of the comet out into space. Nova had been paralyzed.

When Kirby finally emerged out of the wreckage, he saw just how tightly he managed to snatch that victory.

The Sun and Moon looked cracked in places, as if they had nearly crumbled apart. From the looks, it seems as though paralyzing Nova has also deactivated its rockets, thus halting any progress it was making toward colliding with Popstar into the dust.

Having spent the last few minutes blasted with beeps, mechanical noises, and the soft hum of the comet's ion engines, however, the sudden silence in the aftermath of it all felt...unsettling.

And the victory felt...unsatisfying.

He had won. Barely.

But not completely.

Marx wasn't finished just yet.

With Nova dealt with, Kirby could now sense...a presence. He could feel where Marx was situated.

He was on the Moon. The same one that had been trying to stop Nova from crashing into Popstar. And the same one where Kirby defeated Nightmare so long ago. If he was hiding there, he hadn't been for too long. He must've gotten there only after Nova had been paralyzed.

But why? What was he planning? What was he scheming?

Before Kirby could descend, however, he could feel the Warp Star metamorphose beneath him again. Back into its original form. It had transferred the planetary energy it had left back to Kirby, and it didn't have much left to give back.

It had weakened under being put under so much strain. Much like the Sun and Moon had.

Kirby could only hope that he wouldn't have to suffer the same fate.

He thought about which Copy Essence he would equip when confronting Marx. He went for the Sword ability.

With that, he slowly descended down unto the Moon's surface, jumping off the Warp Star just a few feet off the ground. It flew away to await his next order, whenever it should be.

Kirby. He was seeing red. He was itching for a struggle. Where was Marx hiding himself?

SMACK*

He was punched in the right cheek, sending him to the ground.

"I'm right here." Marx taunted, before giggling to himself. He had snuck up on the puffball from the front.

Kirby looked up at where he had previously stood, trying to get eye contact.

SMACK*

He was face-planted on the ground again.

"C'mon, Kirby. Look at me."

 _Huh?_

He looked up.

SMACK*

He was kicked to the ground from behind this time.

"Yeah! Come 'n find me!"

 _Marx you—_

SMACK*

"You can't catch me!"

 _You little—_

SMACK*

"YOU CAN'T CATCH ME!"

SMACK*

"YOU CAN'T—"

SMACK*

"CATCH ME!!"

SMACK*

There was blood. Blood was pooling on the ground from Kirby's mouth.

"You...you're so... _weak_."

SMACK*

Blood... So much blood.

"Look at me."

He was grabbed, and dragged up from the floor. He was eye-to-eye with Marx. His eyes were as crazed as he remembered, but his expression was freezing cold...

He couldn't get much other detail. Things were so...blurry...

SMACK*

He landed atop his pool of blood. It tasted tangy. Metallic.

"I said _look at me_ , Kirby."

 _No..._

"You cannot hope to destroy me."

 _I...I will. You'll see... You—_

"You may have stopped Nova, but I will still rule Popstar. I still have all the power. You have nothing."

 _You..._

Kirby tried to raise his sword. It was kicked out of his stub as Marx started to wrap his wings around the bloodied up puffball.

"You are nothing to me now."

 _I...I'm nothing—_

 _No! Fight back!_

He couldn't fight back.

"I gave you the chance to die alone. And when you didn't take it, I was generous enough to let you watch. You don't deserve another chance."

 _I don't deserve anything..._

 _Don't let him get to you!_

"You're just a child that yearns for death. I grew up long before your ever showed up."

 _I'm nothing._

 _I'm nothing but a broken child._

Marx's mouth opened up, as he positioned to puncture the puffball with his fangs. He was going to literally suck the life out of him.

 _I'm broken._

 _I'm broken._

 _I want to die._

 _Kill me._

 _Kill me, Marx._

"Don't worry, child. I'll grant you the release you so desperately crave."

 _Let me die, Marx._

 _Pleas just let me die._

The fangs pierced through the child's flesh. He could already feel his blood, his life, his energy, his light; everything being sapped away.

"There, there, Kirby. Just let go."

 _I love you._

"Be free."

 _I love you Marx._

"Let the pain consume you."

 _I'll do it for you._

 _Only for you._

 _I wanted you to be with me when I died._

 _Thank you._

 _I love you._

Kirby couldn't feel when he impacted the ground again. Not like he wanted or needed to know.

 _I love you too much._

Marx starred at him. What a pity.

 _That's why I have to kill you._

 _I'm sorry._

With the last of his strength, he regained the Sword ability, and with a dying breath, struck Marx straight through the center. The jester shrieked.

How did he— How could—

Why did this _hurt_ so much??

This made no sense! Kirby was nearly dead! He had devoured whatever was left of the poor soul! How did—

Why was it _stinging_ so badly??

Why was _he_ bleeding??

He glared at those eyes. Those glassy, lifeless eyes. They looked so pure... So...accepting. Was this his plan all along?

"Kirby..." he cried. "I'm—"

He couldn't finish his sentence. An excruciating amount of pain had taken hold. In the location where he had been stabbed, his body had started to brightly glow. It was burning.

It exploded. It continued exploding. He was flying. Flying straight toward the disabled comet.

He crashed right into it, destroying them both in the process.

And from the ground on the Moon, Kirby lifelessly watched the sequence of events unfold.

In due time, he would be grazed by the massive explosion, and would too be destroyed.

At least, he would have. Had it not been for a combined effort. The Moon moved out of the blast radius and prepared to take up its usual position in Popstar's sky. The Warp Star retrieved him from the Moon's surface and was on course to fly him back home.

Kirby was battered, bruised, bitten, and covered in soot, debris, and blood. He layed limp upon the vessel. To say that he was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted would be an understatement.

And as he blankly watched Nova explode in the background, his eyes were left dripping with tears, the exact reason why lost in translation.

 ** _To be concluded_**


	7. The Beginning (Redux)

**_It's end time. But before getting to hasty, here are some review replies:_**

 _The Artist Formerl_ _y Known as 'Raspberri-Marxie' (i.e._ YourFluffyTrashIsFull _) **Then hopefully you should be satisfied with this ending.**_

 ** _Now on to the finale..._**

This was a bad idea.

He knew it was a bad idea.

This hadn't been the first time Marx had snooped on Kirby — not in a long shot, in fact — yet all these outings seemed to bring just as much stress and unease as the first time.

What was he doing here?

Why did he ever think this was a good idea?

He was uninvited. Unwanted. So what did this all amount to? Stalking! There's no way he could justify this if he ever got caught, and there were enough close calls to warrant such fear.

Yet he carried on, undeterred in spite of his own internal deterrents yelling at him like alarm bells. He had been carrying on for years, and he didn't know why. Here he was, teetering on the brink of madness, and yet Kirby was as joyous as ever, if no more so, going along with his friends on yet another grand adventure. He wondered how he could do it. How he could cope with it all.

He wondered what they were up to this time. Kirby and Co. Maybe he should stop being so preoccupied and start listening in to what was going on.

Hm. Something about these corrupted heart pieces that had been appearing everywhere...whatever they were. He didn't really care what they were called. It was the usual shtick as far as Marx was concerned; Dream Land was being invaded again and Kirby needed to go stop it. Again.

It didn't mean he didn't care about these shards' effects; it started turning everyone near them into bigger jerks than usual, not to mention their effects on the local environment. He was lucky to have been hiding out in the Fringes, where he had originated from, where it appeared that fewer of these things had landed. Funny that even these mysterious invaders don't seem to care about the Fringes — the borderland. Though, granted, if Marx wasn't from there, it doubtful if he would really bother with them, either.

Thinking about it, he wasn't too far from the Fringes, actually.

At the very least, the fact that these shards managed to make the folk of the Fringes act even _worse_ than they already were did highlight the severity and importance of the situation.

Or at least it should have. It didn't, to be honest.

Marx was, at the present, busy concerning himself with _Kirby_. How was _he_ handling the situation?

He was accompanied by King Dedede, who had loosened his quarrels with the puffball long ago, Bandana Dee — or Bandee, for short — and...

Wait. What were _these guys_ doing with Kirby? A Poppy Bro, a Waddle Doo, and a Sir Kibble — what?? Wh-Why?? Were they, like, helpers? But he still had a Copy Ability on hand...

"Hello!"

" _GAH_!" Marx, startled, slipped off the branch he was perched on, landing in a bush below. Well, what did you expect? How are you supposed to spy on someone if you aren't hidden? Which brings up the question of how Marx was even found in the first place...

"What are you doing up there?" asked a Noddy. Probably another one of Kirby's helpers.

"Just sitting?" Marx said. _Not too shabby of a response_.

"Halt!" a loud, gruff voice responded. _Gulp._ "Who goes there?"

Great. He was now being confronted by Dedede. He never felt more terrified by the King in his life, and even then, it was mainly due to whom he was accompanying. Why didn't he just run off when he fell out of the tree?

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" the penguin asked.

"...I-I could ask _you_ guys the same question!" Marx swiftly responded. He knew fully well what they were doing. He just talk his way out of the situation and things would be fine!

"Oh, really??" Dedede spat. "What do you think you're getting at? We've got a world to save, ya scrub!"

"O-Okay! Goodness!"

The sense of anger in the air, however, very suddenly cooled. Dedede raised one of his eyebrows as his face took on an expression of confusion. "Hold up..." he said. "Do I know you?"

Marx was sweating. "No."

"You sure? You look..." He approached the paralyzed jester. "...familiar..." He suddenly turned away. "KIRBY!" he called out. "Do you know this guy?"

 _Oh please no_

"Huh?" Kirby squeaked.

"This weirdo, here. I feel like I know him but..." Dedede scratches his head. "...I don't know from _where_ , exactly..."

Kirby proceeded to walk in a circle around Marx, as if trying to take in every detail. The latter was stiffened the whole time, not daring to move an inch, should something bad happen as a result.

As the puffball continued his analysis, Marx grew more and more annoyed. For the life of him, he couldn't discern anything that Kirby might be thinking. Kirby's face looked intrigued, but that was it.

 _Oh come on!_ Marx thought. _At the very least acknowledge my_ existence _you... Y-you..._

That was awkward.

Goodness, he was starting to sound like a fangirl.

But it had merit! If anything, Kirby should say "Yeah, poyo! I know him.", or _anything_ of that sort. But no! He's just... _starring_! Doing nothing!! Not even a hint of hesitation!

"You seem like good friend to have along." Kirby finally spoke up. "Wanna join in, poyo?"

This left everyone else, including Marx, completely puzzled.

"Uh, Kirby?" Dedede asked. "You sure we should be letting random strangers into our group, here?"

"Well...the more the merrier, right?" the Waddle Doo commented.

The helpers beside them nodded, albeit slowly, as if they were somewhat reluctant to the idea. It was kind of weird to let a random straggler into their group, but some of them weren't exactly close friends of Kirby's either, and that helped to make the decision a bit easier to digest.

Marx still stood there completely stunned.

"Well? Come on, now! You heard!" Dedede called. "You can come with!"

"Uh..."

He grunted. The penguin king was clearly getting impatient. "Look, we've got a stray shard to catch, so let's get a move on!" He turned toward the pink puffball again to further vent his frustration. "I mean, get a move on! The shard landed right in _there_! In Sacred Square!"

He was pointing toward a mountainous place in the distance. Marx had heard something crash into that area whilst wandering about. That was when he noticed Kirby in the distance, and, rather than run away, took to partaking in a now awkward pastime.

Now that he was thinking about it, though, why _did_ he wander out here? Even if the Fringe folk were acting crummier than usual, he didn't really _care_ all that much about them. He probably would've stayed put. _Should've_ stayed put.

But he didn't. Something had made him come here.

This meeting wasn't by chance.

"A-All right!" The jester put his foot down. "I won't delay you any longer! I'll go with you!"

"Oh, boy! New friend!" Bandee happily exclaimed.

"Right! Let's get a move on then, _right?_ " Dedede said. The last part in particular was emphasized to an irritating extent, obviously aiming to force Kirby's approval.

"Alright, alright!" Kirby scoffed. "But...it's getting a bit dark out."

Wait _what_??

Bandee looked up at the sky. "He's right."

How was it already this dark out? Had he been out for this long??

"Uggghhhhh!" Dedede groaned. "We've been at this for hours, but now you want to rest when we're _this close_ to getting that thing??"

"Yeah...?" Kirby replied, though not confidently.

"Oh, okay." Dedede said.

That was anticlimactic.

"Let's set up camp, guys!" he commanded. There we go. "We've got a long day ahead of us, I'm sure, so let's get nappin'!"

Within fifteen minutes, the amenities for the makeshift campsite had been assembled and dealt with, though unsurprisingly Dedede didn't help much.

During the setup, the Doo finally asked, "We never got your name. What are you called?"

"None of your business." Marx sneered back. He did

Once a fire had been lit and everyone started settling in for the night, the group finally figured out why Dedede wasn't all too resourceful or of much help. He was already asleep, probably having been exhausted and cranky due to everything he had been through that day. Namely, he had been corrupted...again. He then had to be beaten up and saved by Kirby...again. This was followed by a long, tiring chase which only now seemed to be near its conclusion.

An hour later, Marx was the only one still awake, alone with his thoughts. Or at least he thought he was alone.

"Poyo, you ever look up at the stars and...lose yourself?"

Marx flinched. Oh, of course. Kirby was still awake.

"Like just feel all...soothed and relaxed?" Kirby prodded.

"...I dunno." Marx responded. "I don't...really lay down much."

Kirby sat up. "You don't?"

"No. I'm too busy...um..."

"Too busy with what?"

"Too busy being...*sigh* I dunno."

The puffball patted a spot in the grass next to him. "C'mon, sit down, poy. It's comfy..."

"N-no! I don't!"

"Please?"

"Back off!"

"Wha—?" Kirby appeared confused. "What are you getting at?"

"STOP TALKING!"

"You're gonna wake up the—"

"NO! I don't _care_!" Marx was steaming. "I'm getting answers _now_!" He pointed at the puffball.

"Wha-What're you talking about, poyo?"

"How do you do it?" he forcefully asked, arms raised. They were a remnant of his old wish, and as such were more of a yellow-gold than a purple, like the rest of him. "How do you cope with it?? How can you _grow_ past what we went through??"

Years of built up tension. Years of internal fighting and turmoil had now unleashed itself within Marx. The floodgates had opened. There would be no stopping his anger.

"Marx, I—"

"So _now_ you remember my name!" he mocked. "Is that how you got over it?? You _forgot_ I even existed??"

"Marx—"

"Shut up! SHUT UP!"

"I—"

"STOP TALKING!! LEAVE ME—"

He stopped in his tracks. Kirby was standing up, his expression that of concern. His stubs were raised.

He hit him. The _bastard_! He _hit_ him!

He wanted to yell. He wanted to scream. He wanted to lunge forward and punch that look off of Kirby's face. But he didn't. He refused to.

He...he suddenly wasn't angry anymore. He wasn't boiling, or fuming, or exploding like a powder keg. He was...empty.

Lonely.

Sad.

His eyes began to water. What was he about to do to him?

"Marx." Kirby spoke up. They were looking right into each other's eyes, Marx able to see his own broken reflection in Kirby's pupils. "I didn't get over what happened overnight. And I know you're desperate. I know you want to figure it out and think you're missing something. This...isn't the first time I saw you since then."

The jester's mouth was left agape. How...how could he have...

He knew? Why didn't he...

"I didn't say anything, poyo, because...well...I didn't want to bring it up with them. Not yet. I still haven't told them what happened."

"Wh...Why not?" Marx struggled. He could barely hold the tears back.

"It's...it's personal, poyo." Kirby shifted uncomfortably in place. "Something they shouldn't have to worry about."

The puffball tried to continue, but immediately trailed off. As silence overtook them, Marx couldn't help but feel...tranquil. Comfortable. He felt a bit woozy, feeling like he'd collapse at any moment.

He broke the silence. "I should've just stayed away..."

Kirby stepped closer. "I didn't want you to leave, and I don't want you to leave now. I can... _feel_ your pain. I understand what you're feeling."

"I'm not talking about right now." Marx said. "I meant...since I left. I should've never come back. I should be dead. B-But I'm not... A-And you aren't, either... H-How could you live with that...?" By now, he was sobbing.

"I...I just do." Kirby admitted. "And wasn't just talking about today, poyo. I mean...I knew what you were looking for. You wanted to be with me, a part of the adventure, like old times."

Marx nodded, his eyes scrunched up and his face streaking with tears.

"You wanted to live in the past. I'm here to help you get into the present, poyo, because...that's what friends do. They help each other."

"B...But you didn't find me. I-I was found by complete chance..."

"...Not how I remember it." Kirby said. Marx's eyes widened.

 _They had all gotten off the Warp Star not too long ago. In the distance was Sacred Square, their next destination. At least, it_ will _be._

 _"There it is." Kirby pointed out. "The Jamba shard should be over_ there

 _"Why did you think it was a good idea to get off_ here _?" asked King Dedede. "We aien't even close to the mountains!"_

 _"It'll be late soon." Kirby explained. "We need a nice, comfy place to settle down."_

 _"Settle down? We have things to do! Things to figure out!" the king shouted. "Mysteries to resolve! We can't just...uh, what're you looking at?"_

 _There was a nearby tree. A familiar...presence in the air..._

 _A familiar sense of...sadness. Of a yearning for something._

 _And a certain someone watching from the branches._

 _He turned to a Noddy, one of the enemies he had befriended not long ago, and asked, "Can you go over to that tree and say 'Hello' to it?"_

 _The Noddy obeyed and went towards the tree._

 _"What was that for?" Dedede asked._

 _"Nothing, poyo." Kirby said. "Just a feeling."_

 _They both turned back to the tree when a thud was heard, along with the rustling of some leaves and the sound of some twigs snapping apart._

 _Dedede was a combination of shocked, impressed, and terrified concerning Kirby's apparent telepathy. In reality, Kirby had noticed these feelings before, but never to this severity. He needed to confront this now._

 _"A Fringeman." Dedede told him. "Nice one, Kirby."_

 _When Kirby motioned toward the fallen figure, however, he was stopped. "Don't fret!" Dedede intervened. "I'll deal with it." The penguin cleared his throat and turned toward the shrubbery._

 _In a raised voice, he said, "Halt! Who goes there?"_

"Now don't fool yourself into thinking I fully trust you, Marx." Kirby warned.

"I...I won't..." Marx replied.

"But...don't bury yourself in your fears and doubts, either. Just breathe... Relax..."

Breathe in... Breathe out...

"I want us to be friends again. And I know you do, too."

"I'm...I'm scared, Kirby..."

"We can start over." Kirby suggested. "That's what I did. I started over and...went through the motions...and here we are."

Marx blinked. That...that sounded nice...

Kirby went up and patted Marx on the back. "We'll be alright. I promise."

"I know."

With that, the two of them layed down on the grassy plains, starring up into the night sky.

The tone was somber and quiet. But blissful. It was a nice change of pace.

And even as the two of them drifted into the realm of dreams, each with their own worries suffer away in the back of their minds, one of each of their hands intertwined with each other. They both slept well through the night, both happy and content, with at least one safe in the knowing that their deepest wish had finally come true.

 ** _The End._**

 ** _That was all she—erm, all_ I _wrote. For this story. Ahem._**

 ** _Thank you all for the invaluable support you've given throughout the story. It's well appreciated._**

 ** _If you are wondering, there are two more stories being planned for this series. The next one, coming up soon, will start off after_ Kirby Star Allies _and conclude before the start of_ Trapped Together _, making it a more direct prequel of the latter. The story after that will be a direct sequel of_ Trapped Together**

 ** _If you want updates on these upcoming stories or additional info or reads from me, follow my profile and send me a PM._**

 ** _Be sure to leave a review for this last chapter as well. Thank you very much and have a great rest of your day!_**


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